Firefighters battle Pickens warehouse fire

Firefighters mill about the scene of a massive fire in Pickens. (Oct. 9, 2012/FOX Carolina)

PICKENS, SC (FOX Carolina) -

Dozens of firefighters were on the scene of a warehouse fire in downtown Pickens on Tuesday evening and late into Wednesday morning.

Pickens firefighters said the old Brunswick Yarn warehouse on City View Circle went up in flames at about 9 p.m. The fire was reported after a volunteer firefighter driving past saw smoke.

Firefighters said the warehouse contains multiple areas for storage and was unoccupied when the fire broke out. No injuries have been reported. The warehouse property reportedly contained several businesses, including a company specializing in tarps and another in cabinet making.

Business owners and firefighters have yet to get inside the building to assess the damage, as firefighters continue to make sure the flames are out and won't be rekindled.

One local business owner said their cabinet company had an order that was supposed to go out Wednesday and they fear everything is gone, while the tarp business said they had about $1 million worth of goods in their warehouse.

"We had a fire here three weeks ago," said Randy Garren, one business owner. "People stripping the metal paint, dumping the oil on the ground. I was trying to get something done about that before we burned the place down."

Garren said his life savings was in his business and is hopeful something will be spared from the fire or water damage.

"We are completely in defensive mode," said Chris Elrod, Pickens Fire incident commander. "We are not sending anyone in or around the building. We are worried about property conservation."

Firefighters brought in an excavator to tear off the damage roof to help extinguish interior hot spots.

There is no word yet what sparked the blaze.

Stick with FOX Carolina and foxcarolina.com for the latest on this developing story.